Seven-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada recently spoke with “Number Web” to discuss a variety of topics.
During the interview, Okada expressed his desire to surpass Antonio Inoki, in the category of helping expand NJPW globally. He said,
“I know people might say, ‘It’s impossible to surpass Mr. Inoki,’ but I think the only way to do it is to make pro wrestling more exciting. First of all, I would like to bring the attendance back to the level where it was at the time of Mr. Inoki’s Tokyo Dome, and then I would like to promote pro wrestling in a different way, since there are now video distribution services on the internet and so on.”
He continued, “In the past, Mr. Inoki also focused on overseas strategies and tried to bring New Japan wrestling to the world, but times have changed and there are many New Japan fans overseas through the internet, so I would like to exceed what Mr. Inoki did in this way. I don’t think I have that much time left in my career, so I want to do my best.”
